Journalism plays an important role in democratic societies. As articulated in the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, this role includes holding power to account, campaigning for social goals, and facilitating debate and the exchange of ideas. But who decides whether someone is a journalist or not? Before social media platforms it was uncontroversial that journalists were people reporting for large media organisations. Recently, however, youtubers have emerged on the periphery of journalism, and they are making inroads towards becoming accepted by mainstream audiences. This is occurring in the wider context of news avoidance and low trust in news media, with many people criticising “the MSM” as failing in its societal function.
Avi Yemini and Jordan Shanks (at friendlyjordies) have both amassed large audiences on YouTube, both have numerous articles written about them in mainstream media, and both have experiences with courts related to their journalistic activities, as plaintiff or defendant respectively. Avi Yemini and his supporters say he is a journalist, others say he is not. Politicians have called Jordan Shanks a journalist, yet in Barilaro v Google, Justice Rares slammed the friendlyjordies content relevant to the case as “poison”.
Avi Yemini and Jordan Shanks are not the only youtubers building audiences with journalistic content. Relative newcomers such as Leonardo Puglisi and the teenaged team at 6 News Australia are beginning to make an impact, even interviewing prime ministers. But like Yemini and Shanks, the teenagers’ status as journalists has not gone unquestioned.
Discussion around who are journalists can get heated. It can also have legal consequences. For example, it is unclear whether the identity of the confidential whistle-blower in friendlyjordies’ video The Baddest MP: Dutton would be protected under shield laws.
I propose getting around this issue by focussing on content, not people. Platform journalism is an emerging form of journalism that combines the norms and routines of social media platforms (e.g. calls to action, dramatic sound effects, conversational mode of address) with journalism ideals and original investigation. If a YouTube video presents an original investigation into a public-interest issue, with verifiable facts, with a minimisation of harm, and the creator is not anonymous, then it is performing the role of journalism, irrespective of whether it uses youtuber norms or those of traditional television journalism.
The emergence of platform journalism is likely to continue and expand and will continue to shape how audiences are informed. To move past controversies and arguments over who is a journalist it may be better to focus on content.
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Chris Hall, CMT PhD candidate